FINAL WARNING: Setting the Stage for Destruction
Hebrew Studies in England has a full set, which had been given to
them in May, 1991, by the Israeli Oversight Committee.The Qumran texts, written in Hebrew and Aramaic, are believed to have
been written between 250 BC and 68 AD. They have been divided into
two groups – Biblical and non-Biblical. About 20% are Biblical. Copies
of every book in the Hebrew Bible have been found, except for Esther
(which, coincidentally, was the only book that didn’t mention the name
of God). In Cave 4, one of the most complete manuscripts which they
have been able to reconstruct, is the First Book of Samuel, which was
found to contain passages not contained in our Bible, and is being
used to fill in some of the narrative gaps. The non-Biblical fragments
consist of hymns and psalms, biblical commentaries, legal documents,
a letter, apocryphal writings, and an inventory of the Temple treasure.
Of the non-Biblical, there are texts referred to as sectarian writings,
which were produced by a unique sect of Jews who have been
identified as the Essenes.The seven intact scrolls that were found in Cave 1, were quickly
published by Israeli and American scholars, but the fragments
collected by de Vaux were a different story. Just in Cave 4, there was
believed to be well over 15,000 fragments (and perhaps as many as
100,000) from 500 different manuscripts. In all, the find was said to
represent about 800 manuscripts. Of the Biblical writings, 25 copies of
Deuteronomy were found, 18 copies of Isaiah, and 27 copies of the
Psalter. Among the non-Biblical, 11 copies of the Community Rule, 9
Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, 8 of the Thanksgiving Hymn, and 7 of
the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness.Prior to the discovery of the Scrolls, the oldest known Old Testament
texts were copies which dated back to 1100 AD, yet they were nearly
identical. Originally, only the linen surrounding the scrolls were tested
with the Carbon-14 dating process, which indicated a date around the
2nd century BC and the beginning of the 1st century AD. In 1991, new
tests by a Swiss laboratory confirmed these results. A palaeographical
analysis was done on the script used in writing the texts which
revealed a similarity to styles that were used from 250 - 150 BC, 150 -
30 BC, and 30 BC - 70 AD. Archaeological dating was also done with
the help of several hundred coins which were found in the Qumran
complex. The earliest structures were built between 130 - 110 BC, then